


Basket Full of Eggs

by Abbyromana



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Discrimination, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, Social Issues, Tim Drake-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-11 00:05:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13512579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abbyromana/pseuds/Abbyromana
Summary: What if the brick to the face wasn’t the first time Tim and Stephanie met?





	Basket Full of Eggs

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on my Livejournal.
> 
> This might be cheesy, but when I saw this cute photo of a little blonde girl and a shy brunette boy, the idea wouldn’t leave me alone. I hope you enjoy it.

Tim furrowed his brow. For a long moment, he stared blankly up at his mother’s beaming face. His five-year-old mind understood her words, but strung together, they didn’t make sense. “But bunnies do not lay eggs.”  
  
Janet Drake's smile suddenly faltered. The corners of her lips dipped, and ridges formed on her usually smooth forehead. Tim instantly recognized the stern look in her eyes. He had seen it enough times when she didn’t like what he had said or did.  
  
Tim was suddenly very afraid. His mother had agreed to spend the day with him if he was good - her words. He really had been looking forward to this day. Mother-son time was often far and between, since she was so often gone on trips. So, he didn’t want it to end yet.

Quickly, he lifted the green plastic basket with the yellow pieces of plastic straw, which she had presented to him at their mansion, and beamed his biggest smile. “I find eggs, Mother.”  
  
Almost instantly, his mother's face lit up again. A new smile spread across her peach colored lips. Lightly, she patted the top of Tim's neatly styled hair. “That’s my boy.” Gently, she ushered him forward into the well-manicured park. “Off you go, Timothy. Good luck, sweetheart!”  
  
Nervously, Tim swallowed. He took all of three steps forward, before looking back towards his mother. He still wasn't sure where to start his search. His lips were parted when he spotted his mother. She was already talking to another two women in pastel colored dresses. None of them were even watching him or any of the other kids.

"Alright then," muttered Tim. Closing his mouth, he turned back around and hesitantly headed into the world of green shrubbery, pastel streamers and balloons, and the loud, chattering voices of other children running here and there.  
  
As he recalled from his mother's lengthy, if confusing, explanation, Tim was supposed to seek out colorful eggs under bushes, in flower beds, and around tree trunks. When she had told him that, he had been flabbergasted. Back home, he wasn't supposed to be digging in flower beds. That usually upset their gardeners. Also, he wasn’t allowed to be tramping around the grounds, getting dirty either. But, according to his mother, today was different. Today, a giant bunny hid eggs, so Jesus could come back from the dead. Personally, none of it made sense to him.

Shrugging, Tim headed into a quieter portion of the park, where the trees were thick. Much to his amazement, Tim found his first two eggs almost a minute afterwards. Even more amazing to Tim, the colorful eggs of red and yellow were made of plastic. He was sure he'd read that eggs were not artificial but made from calcium.

When he shook the plastic eggs, he heard stuff jingling inside. Opening one, jelly beans and chocolates spilled out. Tim was more than intrigued as he nibbled on a green jelly bean. He never knew eggs could have sweets in them. This was an amazing find to him. He wondered what else eggs could contain. Determined to find out, he headed deeper into the park.   
  
Some five minutes later, he had found another five eggs. He could no longer hide his excitement. It was written in the broad smile plastered across his face. Tim felt for sure his mother would be proud of him. He couldn't wait to show the eggs to her and share the candy as well.

As Tim nibbled on another jelly bean, he saw a tall, dark shadow fall over him. He looked behind him with a surprised expression. There stood a stout boy several inches taller than Tim. He had a shock of red hair and a lot of red dots on his face. The older boy was frowning down at Tim.  
  
“What do you think you are doing, Shorty?” There was a coldness to the older boy's voice.  
  
There was a tremble to Tim's shoulders, but he brushed it off. Today was supposed to be a fun day. He wasn't going to let his fear of strangers and crowds get in the way. Putting on a friendly smile, Tim turned towards the boy and showed him his basket of plastic eggs. “I am finding eggs.”  
  
Before Tim could say another word, the boy grabbed Tim’s basket out of his hands.

"Hey!" The word came out as Tim watched the older boy empty all the eggs and candy into the older boy’s own basket. “But…that’s mine!” He took a step forward to stop him. “I found those!”  
  
A snort of bemusement came from the older boy's nose. Then, without warning, the older boy viciously swung Tim’s empty basket into him.

Tim felt the air knocked from his lungs. With a thud, he fell to the ground. Tears stung in his eyes as he sat on the lawn. He looked angrily up at his tormenter.  
  
There was a sneer on the stout boy’s face. “Wrong, Shorty. All mine.” Then, lifting his chin, he turned on his heels and started away.  
  
Tim’s throat constricted. His lower lip quivered. “No! You can't...”  
  
Tim's words were cut off by a new voice. “Hey, Pig-Wee!”  
  
Tim noticed the older boy's shoulders tense. He turned sharply in Tim's direction. A new fear washed over Tim. He was afraid the older boy thought he had called him the name. He didn't want to get hit again.

However, Tim saw the boy's gaze was focused over the top of Tim's head. 

Just then, Tim heard feet running towards them. Out of the corner of his eye, Tim saw a blonde girl. He saw her hands were balled up into fists. When she stepped closer to the older boy, she had a deep frown on her face. “I saw that!”  
  
The older boy blinked for a moment, before scowling down at her. “Shut up, Brown-face! You don’t know…”  
  
Pointing back at Tim, she declared, “You took his eggs. I saw you!” She pushed herself up on her tip-toes and pressed into his face. “Now, give them back!” Then, she lifted a fist up to the older boy’s face. “Or else!”  
  
Tim just blinked.

The older boy took an uneasy step back from the blonde girl. Tim thought the older boy looked surprised and more than a bit afraid. Then, he gave the girl a hard shove. “Back off, Brown-face! Or I’ll tell my mom on you. You dirty little bi…”  
  
Before the bad words could leave the older boy's mouth, the girl delivered a hard-right hook into the older boy’s face, laying him flat on his back. Both of the boy’s hands were covering his nose. Something red was beginning to ooze out between his fingers.  
  
Tim gaped at the older boy, whose eyes were starting to fill with tears. He frantically slid further away from her. Then, the older boy was on his feet and off.

“You better run, Pig-Wee!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Once, the boy was gone, she released a heavy breath. Her shoulders slumped.

Tim nervously swallowed and watched as the girl turned her attention to the dropped baskets. She picked up both and turned towards Tim. He froze, not sure what the girl would do next. He didn’t want to get beaten up, especially by someone as tough as her.

Much to his surprise, her expression had softened. She was giving him a worried look. “Are you okay?”  
  
As she approached, Tim just blinked, not sure what to say.  
  
Standing over him, she asked, “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”  
  
Tim slowly shook his head.  
  
A small smile crept over her face. “That’s good,” she said. Then she laid both baskets before him. “Here! I think these are yours.”  
  
In a weak voice, he stammered, “Not… not all of… of them.”  
  
Her brow furrowed. “What’s that?”  
  
Swallowing, Tim decided the point wasn’t worth arguing. Instead, strengthening his voice, he changed the subject. “You hit him.”  
  
Pulling back slightly, she replied with a questioning tone, “Yeah, so? He deserved it.”  
  
Furrowing his brow, Tim placed a hand on his own basket’s handle. As he searched the overloaded basket for his five eggs, he explained, “My mother says there is never a reason to hit a person. You should not fight. You should talk.”  
  
The blonde girl’s gaze lowered. After a moment, she gave a small shrug. “Well, you were in trouble. Someone was hurting you. Batman would have done it.”  
  
Tim’s eyes widened. He couldn’t help the smile curving his lips. “You like Batman?”  
  
Her gaze rose with her own smile to accompany it. “Of course! He’s so cool, doing good, protecting the innocent. Like Superman!”  
  
“You… you like Superman, too?” asked Tim with an awed expression.  
  
“Sure!” she exclaimed.  
  
Tim was on his feet again in seconds. “Me… me too!”  
  
She beamed at him with the biggest smile. For a second, Tim's face felt very warm. It felt like forever since he felt this happy around someone. Part of him wondered if the blonde girl might want to be his friend. However, as quickly as that idea came to mind, it was ripped away.  
  
Tim heard the familiar gruff voice of the older boy again. “That’s her!”  
  
“Oh, oh,” said the girl, cringing as she looked over the top of Tim.  
  
When Tim looked too, he saw the boy – now with a very red nose - and two adults quickly approaching. A tall woman with a round face held the boy’s hand and led the way toward Tim and the girl. Just behind them was a neatly dressed man with smoothed back hair and a pastel green shirt. All of them looked very upset.  
  
“You!” shrieked the woman. “I should have guessed it would be Brown’s brat.” She wrinkled her nose and glared down at the girl. “How dare you hurt my little angel!”  
  
The blonde girl - Brown, according to the tall woman - furrowed her brow. “But… I was just…”  
  
“You filthy, little liar!” the woman exclaimed, turning sharply toward the man. “I expected better from The Wayne Foundation. How did you let her slip past…”  
  
Placing her fists on her hips, Brown told both adults, “Hey! I paid the 20-dollar fee for entry.”  
  
With a skeptical look, the man looked down at the girl’s identification badge, which was pinned to her purple shirt. Then, he looked at his clipboard. “Yes. Yes, you did, Miss Brown.”  
  
“What?!” exclaimed the woman with a shocked look. “Tt. I’d have thought you’d have… a better set of guidelines on who should and who shouldn’t… be allowed to participate.” She gazed at the blond girl.  
  
“Well,” the man continued, shifting his stern gaze to Brown. “I do notice that you have no adult signing off for you. Where are your parents?”  
  
Brown’s gaze dipped. “Well… you see, huh…”  
  
Coughing, the man shook his head. “I see. I think you and I should have a talk, Miss Brown.” He reached for her hand.  
  
Then, the woman turned to Tim, pointing accusingly. “And what of her little accomplice?” She glared at Tim.  
  
The man’s gaze shifted to Tim with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“He must be another dirty, thieving street brat,” continued the woman with a sneer.  
  
Tim opened his mouth to argue otherwise, but a familiar, somewhat comforting voice interrupted. “Timothy, sweetheart!” Only a moment later, Tim felt his mother's strong hands on his shoulders. He looked up to see her beaming face. “Are you making friends?”  
  
“Missus… Mrs. Drake?” stammered the woman, suddenly turning white. “Oh, is he… is he yours?”  
  
“Mrs. Thorne,” Janet Drake replied. Tim could tell her smile was forced. Like many times before, it didn’t reach his mother’s eyes. “How nice to see you and your little William.” Then, she gave Tim’s shoulders a slight squeeze. He even felt a subtle tug away from the group. “Yes. This is my and Jack’s little Timothy. Our handsome, little genius.”  
  
Mrs. Thorne blinked and looked at Tim, and then, Brown. “What’s he doing with a dirty street brat?”  
  
As if just noticing the girl in purple, his mother frowned. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before.” Then, she looked down at Tim with a disapproving look. “Do you know this girl, Timothy?”  
  
Tim felt conflicted. Every fiber of his being wanted just to say, “Yes!” He liked Brown. Not only was she nice to him, she was a hero. When he had needed help, she didn’t hesitate to come to his aid. Better yet, she liked superheroes as much as him. Nobody back at Drake Manor liked superheroes, much less wanted to talk to him about them. However, he knew his mother would not be happy if he did. He didn’t want to upset his mother, so he said, “No, Mother.”  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brown’s face fall. It felt like a punch in the gut. He really liked her. Thus, he decided to continue. “We just met, Mother, when she saved me from that boy. He took my eggs.” He pointed at the boy called William.  
  
Mrs. Thorne made a strangled noise.  
  
Brown added, “See! I told you. I was helping, not bullying.” Then, she quickly flashed Tim a broad grin that made Tim smile, too.  
  
“Just a sec…” Mrs. Thorne stated, pointing an accusing finger at Tim.  
  
“Now, Mrs. Thorne, you aren’t calling my son a liar now, are you?” asked his mother, interrupting the woman. “I don’t think you’re father, would like that.”  
  
“Well, no,” Mrs. Thorne started to explain, seeming to struggle on how to reply.  
  
“And considering your son’s age, and his older brother’s recent trip to Black Gate,” his mother continued, “I’m sure it is possible William might have acted out emotionally, especially after being around that type of influence.”  
  
Twisting her lips, Mrs. Thorne glared but said nothing further.

That seemed to be enough for Tim's mother. Turning first to the man, she said, “Thank you for allowing us to participate, but I think we’ve had quite enough egg hunting for today.” Then, she turned to the girl called Brown. Her smile faltered as she said, “And thank you… for looking after my son… young lady.”  
  
A huge smile broke across Brown’s face. “Any time, Missus. Happy to help.” Her gaze flickered to Tim. “Glad to have met you, too!”  
  
That made Tim smile even more. However, a cough from his mother drew his attention back to her, and he flattened his smile just as he had seen his parents do so often.

His mother turned him around with one hand. “Now, we should really be going. Come along, Timothy.” She grabbed his free hand, pulling him away from the group.  
  
As he was led away, Tim couldn’t help but look back at the blonde girl who had rescued him, who shared his love of superheroes, and who was also being led away but in the other direction. While she was different in other respects, he felt connected to her as he hadn’t with anyone else in a long time. And the moment that she looked back at him with the same smile, Tim knew he’d see her again.

Tim would make sure of it.

 

 


End file.
